


The Eye of the Beholder

by TheAwkwardLadyJay



Series: 25 Days of Ego Christmas [16]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Anti is a Demon, I'm Sorry, M/M, another shitty story, anti is terrifying af, because it's really bad, but he still loves anti, ethan is a human, ethan is terrified af, here ya go, i kind of hate myself for this, so it's okay, that's the only good part, there's a lot of fluff, welp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-16 13:12:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13054692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAwkwardLadyJay/pseuds/TheAwkwardLadyJay
Summary: Ethan wasn’t sure how this had happened. His day had been completely normal up to this point. He had recorded and uploaded his videos, messed around with Mark and Tyler and had avoided Mark’s egos to the best of his ability. When he got home, he had expected to cuddle on the couch with Anti while the demon yelled at whatever movie was on the TV.He had not expected to find a winged monster crouching in his living room.





	The Eye of the Beholder

**Author's Note:**

> So this is abhorrently late. Sorry. I went ice skating with some friends yesterday and didn't give myself enough time to properly write and then this story just refused to cooperate. I rewrote it twice before I just gave up. It's not terrible but it could definitely be better. The prompt is Fireplace.  
> Anyway, this takes place in the same universe as Peppermint Demon. I plan on going deeper into this au after this event is over, but I do have some other story ideas I might work on first. We'll just see how things go.  
> Hopefully, you guys enjoy!

Ethan wasn’t sure how this had happened. His day had been completely normal up to this point. He had recorded and uploaded his videos, messed around with Mark and Tyler and had avoided Mark’s egos to the best of his ability. When he got home, he had expected to cuddle on the couch with Anti while the demon yelled at whatever movie was on the TV.

He had not expected to find a winged monster crouching in his living room.

He screamed at the sight of the creature, falling back against the wall and scrambling for anything to fight with. The being jumped up at the sudden noise, turning towards him and reaching out a pair of clawed hands.

Ethan froze when he made eye contact with the thing, horror stilling his muscles. Where eyes should be there was only darkness. The eyelids were sunken in and shadows were dancing around the darkened holes. The sight was almost enough to make Ethan vomit.

The creature stepped towards him and Ethan realized that it was speaking. He swallowed thickly and tried to hear over the rapid beating of his heart.

“Eth, it’s okay. It’s just me. I’m not going to hurt you. Can you talk to me, baby? Let me know where you are, okay?”

Ethan’s eyes widened. That was Anti’s voice. It was a little more distorted than usual, but it was definitely Anti. He relaxed slightly but his nerves were still on edge, “Anti?”

The demons face lit up and he adjusted his path slightly so he was facing Ethan, “Yeah, it’s me, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. You were home sooner than I expected.”

Ethan’s eyes roved over Anti’s form, his gut twisting uncomfortably. Wings were protruding from the demon’s back, large and intimidating and a dark, sickly gray. His fingers had morphed into deadly claws, tipped with an unsettling glowing green. The cut on his neck had grown wider. Ethan swore he saw the tip of a tongue peek out from the bloody gash. The human tried to look past the empty sockets, but they attracted his gaze, no matter how much he tried not to look at them. A darkness was writhing within the holes, overflowing from the eyelids and licking at the demon’s cheeks and eyebrows. The longer Ethan stared into the darkness, the more panicked he felt.

His breathing picked up, getting more and more shallow. Eventually, he stopped breathing completely. He was still mildly aware of everything going on around him but he could only think about the darkness in his boyfriend’s eyes. His chest ached from lack of air. He tried to inhale a long, relieving breath. His lungs refused to work. His panic settled deeper into his gut.

He faintly heard Anti curse and then there was a bright, green light flooding the room. Ethan’s eyes instinctively closed and suddenly he could breathe again. He inhaled a deep breath, his legs giving out under him.

Anti’s hands were on his shoulders, his deadly claws pressing lightly against the human’s shoulder blades, “That’s it, just breathe, darling. You’re going to be okay.”

Ethan looked up at him and almost stopped breathing again. In the middle of the demon’s forehead was an eye. It was glowing a light green, the blue pupil wandering around lazily, never concentrating on one thing. Its gaze turned to him and he shivered. It felt like he was being watched from all sides. He looked away from it but the feeling didn’t go away.

After a few minutes, he fell back against the wall, resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. He tried to go over everything that had just happened. It wasn’t making sense, though. When he left, Anti had looked like his normal, glitchy self. Now he was some kind of Eldritch Abomination?

He looked up at his boyfriend, who was still crouching in front of him, a mixture of guilt and worry on his face, “So what’s happening, exactly?”

Anti bit his lower lip with an unnaturally sharp tooth, something Ethan attempted to ignore. After a moment of thoughtful silence, he sat down completely, looking more serious than Ethan had ever seen him. “There’s something about me that I haven’t told you, Eth.”

Ethan sent him a deadpan stare, “Really. I never would have guessed.”

Anti’s wings fluttered agitatedly, “Okay, fine. I walked into that one,” he took a deep breath and ran a clawed hand through his hair, “I’m not a normal demon. I’m what people call a Harbinger of the End. This,” he gestured at his horrifying body, “is my natural form.”

Ethan blinked, his face going a shade paler. If he lost anymore color, he might turn into a ghost. “So you’re a Horseman of the Apocalypse?”

“Not quite. I lead the way for the Horsemen. I, and the others like me, get the world set into a sufficient state of chaos so that the Horsemen can initiate the final blow. We’re the harbingers, not the executioners.”

Ethan shook his head, “You can’t be serious. I was fine with you being a demon, but this? I can’t believe this. There’s just no way.”

“Dark is a Harbinger too, if that helps,” Anti supplied.

Ethan laughed humorlessly, “Now that I can believe.”

An offended noise came from Anti, “Really? Am I just not threatening enough for you? Do I not scream ‘end of the world’ enough? You certainly seem to think I look hideous enough.”

Ethan glared at him, looking over his shoulder to avoid his eyes, “You try leaving everything perfectly normal and then coming home to your boyfriend looking like a monster!”

Anti stiffened, hurt flashing over his face. It was visible for a fraction of a second and then it was gone, “I see. I suppose I should have known that’s what you’d think. That’s what everybody thinks, after all. I was a fool for thinking that you were different.”

He stood and brushed himself off, his wings fluttering behind him. He stared down at Ethan disdainfully, his third eye glowing a little bit brighter, “I hope you live a happy life, Ethan Nestor. A happy life with no more monsters.”

He stalked towards the door, small glitches jerking through him, causing several feathers to flutter to the floor. Ethan watched him leave, his mind racing. He didn’t know what to do. This version of Anti terrified him. But it was Anti, his boyfriend. The demon he had fallen in love with. The one person that actually knew him as well as he knew himself.

He scrambled up and chased after the demon, “Wait, Anti!”

The demon stopped, shoulders stiff. His wings were shuddering behind him, the feathers sticking up in different directions. He didn’t say anything, simply turning his head to signal he was listening.

Ethan leaned against the wall, his knees still a little shaky, “I’m sorry. I… I shouldn’t have said that. You don’t look like a monster. You just spooked me. I wasn’t expecting this,” he gestured vaguely at Anti, “when I got home. Please don’t leave.”

Anti sighed, his shoulders slumping. He turned and looked at Ethan, the human setting his jaw and staring straight into his darkened sockets. The demon analyzed him for a moment, his third eye fully concentrated on the human. After a moment, he nodded and stepped toward Ethan, “Okay. I’ll stay.”

Ethan sighed with relief. He stood awkwardly for a moment before he pointed back into the living room, “Do you still get cold in this form? Do you want to go cuddle by the fireplace?”

Anti smiled softly and nodded, “I would love that,” he hesitated for a moment, looking uncertain, “This form isn’t going to go away for a while. I don’t want you to force yourself into an uncomfortable situation.”

Ethan shook his head, “It’s a little unsettling. Especially your eyes. It’s nothing I can’t handle though,” he gently took Anti’s hands, being careful of the claws. He shuddered at the ice cold touch of the other, “You really are cold. Come on.”

He led Anti back into the living room and settled in front of the lit fireplace, looking up at the demon expectantly. Anti sat next to him, slinging a hand over the smaller male’s shoulders. His wings rustled quietly behind him, one of them folding itself over Anti’s shoulder blade. The other followed the demon’s arm, stretching to wrap around the human’s shoulder.

Ethan leaned against the demon, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth of the fire behind him and the feathers around him.

Anti looked down at him, a soft smile appearing on his face. He kissed the top of his lover’s head, tracing a claw up and down his arm gently. The soft touch made Ethan shudder and he nestled closer to the demon, a content hum escaping him.

“Are you sure you’re really okay with this?” the demon muttered quietly after several minutes, “I understand this is asking a lot of you.”

“Anti, if I wasn’t okay with this, I would be gone,” Ethan reassured, “It will take some time to get used to for sure, but everything will be okay. Just be patient with me, okay? I’ve never dated a demon, much less a Harbinger.”

Anti smiled and tucked the small male closer to his side, burying his nose in Ethan’s hair. If it meant spending a lifetime with his adorable lover, having a little patience was something he could do.

**Author's Note:**

> There you go! We have another harbinger on our hands and Ethan did not take the reveal quite as well as Chase did. But he's trying and that's all that matters right?


End file.
